I Samuel 10

¹Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

²When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

³Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth–el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

⁴And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

⁵After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

⁶And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

⁷And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

⁸And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

⁹And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

¹⁰And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

¹¹And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹²And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹³And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

¹⁵And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

¹⁶And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

¹⁷And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh;

¹⁸And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

¹⁹And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.

²⁰And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

²¹When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

²²Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

²³And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

²⁵Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

²⁶And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

²⁷But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

I Samuel 10

¹Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

²When you have gone away from me today, you will see two men by the resting-place of Rachel's body, in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went in search of have come back, and now your father, caring no longer for the asses, is troubled about you, saying, What am I to do about my son?

³Then you are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full of wine:

⁴They will say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

⁵After that you will come to Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed: and when you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them; and they will be acting like prophets:

⁶And the spirit of the Lord will come on you with power, and you will be acting like a prophet with them, and will be changed into another man.

⁷And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.

⁸Then you are to go down before me to Gilgal, where I will come to you, for the offering of burned offerings and peace-offerings: go on waiting there for seven days till I come to you and make clear to you what you have to do.

⁹And it came about, that when he went away from Samuel, God gave him a changed heart: and all those signs took place that day.

¹⁰And when they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets came face to face with him; and the spirit of God came on him with power and he took his place among them as a prophet.

¹¹Now when Saul's old friends saw him among the band of prophets, the people said to one another, What has come to Saul, the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets?

¹²And one of the people of that place said in answer, And who is their father? So it became a common saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?

¹³Then going away from the prophets, he came to the house.

¹⁴And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

¹⁵Then he said, And what did Samuel say to you?

¹⁶And Saul, answering him, said, He gave us word that the asses had come back. But he said nothing to him of Samuel's words about the kingdom.

¹⁷Then Samuel sent for the people to come together before the Lord at Mizpah;

¹⁸And he said to the children of Israel, The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, I took Israel out of Egypt, and made you free from the hands of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms which kept you down:

¹⁹But today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.

²⁰So Samuel made all the tribes of Israel come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

²¹Then he made the tribe of Benjamin come near by families, and the family of the Matrites was taken: and from them, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken: but when they went in search of him he was nowhere to be seen.

²²So they put another question to the Lord, Is the man present here? And the answer of the Lord was, He is keeping himself from view among the goods.

²³So they went quickly and made him come out; and when he took his place among the people, he was taller by a head than any of the people.

²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to the king!

²⁵Then Samuel gave the people the laws of the kingdom, writing them in a book which he put in a safe place before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

²⁶And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

²⁷But certain good-for-nothing persons said, How is this man to be our saviour? And having no respect for him, they gave him no offering.